Soulbound Alchemist
by KaluaTheRathling
Summary: What if the suit of armor hadn't fallen, and Ed was forced to use a different measure? One thing's certain: they'll take Amestris by storm...even if Al's pretty much a ghost. (Series of one-shots based on an AU. First time writing anything FMA-related, so pointers are welcome. Updates will be whenever my inspiration strikes.)
1. Beginning

**Based somewhat on Cinderninja's "Blood Brothers". I honestly cannot really give a fic a good start to save my life...even if it's a one-shot series.  
**

* * *

Edward Elric found himself gasping for breath, on the floor of the basement, in a pool of his own blood.

One thing was quickly clear: Alphonse was gone. _Al _was _gone_. "No," he muttered. "No, no! This wasn't supposed to happen, dammit!" _What went wrong? What…_ He looked around blindly for something; he could fix this, after all he'd seen in the Gate. All the knowledge in this world was useless if he couldn't use any of it to get his brother back.

His hands happened to find something sharp—a shard of glass. The force of the rebound must've knocked a lantern over. Whatever the case, it would do the trick.

Ed barely managed to pull his shirt over his head, and brought the shard to his chest, over his heart. He let it hover there, nervous, before starting to cut into the skin. He was losing too much blood—he had to act fast.

"Give him back…he's my brother!" he heard himself shouting. A circle in formation, the cuts oozing even more blood that ran down his chest. They had to be deep enough to leave a lasting mark, after all. Lines were being drawn. He couldn't be distracted by the blood. "Anything, you can have it! Just give him back—he's my little brother! _He's all I have left_!"

He brought his trembling hands together, and pressed them on his chest. The light of the transmutation was the only thing he saw before things began going dark.

* * *

Alphonse had first been aware of something being _horribly _wrong—but his mind had been too disconcerted for him to figure out _what_ exactly.

They were at the Rockbells' house, now. It almost broke him, seeing Ed hooked up to all those machines, incoherent and unconscious.

But Al couldn't do a thing…because he didn't have a body. Now that he was off of autopilot, he feverishly wondered what exactly had happened.

Ed had done something. That much he knew; maybe it had to do with that thing that looked like some sort of cord, which linked him to a glowing mark that resembled a transmutation circle of some sort on Ed's chest.

His "vision" was blurry at the edges, and Ed, Winry, Pinako, and even Den had a colored aura of sorts—Ed's was golden, and everyone else's was blue.

One thing became definite after a while of thought. Ed was the reason why Al was still there with them.

Partially, anyways.


	2. Posession

Alphonse had first been puzzled when he heard an unfamiliar man's voice. It quickly turned to concern when he saw the man's blue military uniform, and the thunderous look on his face upon seeing Ed in the wheelchair. Marching up, he grabbed his older brother by the collar of his shirt. "We saw that mess!" the man shouted. "What the hell did you do?!"

That moment, Al did not know what came over him. Next he knew, the man fell back, as if he'd been shoved…

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Al himself had, somehow. The man's demeanor changed rather quickly, and he introduced himself as Colonel Roy Mustang. Basically, he'd come to recruit Ed for the military.

Roy launched into a bunch of explanations afterwards, including the theory that they may be able to find a way to restore Ed's limbs.

Then Ed asked, "What about Al?"

The Colonel looked confused, while Pinako went rigid. "I've been meaning to ask, Ed," Winry's grandmother started. "Where…where is Alphonse?"

"He's right there." The blond boy pointed to where Alphonse was, above the table.

Silence. "There's nothing there, Edward," Pinako said.

Ed scowled. "No, he's right there! You just can't see him, that's all!"

It was then Alphonse noticed Winry peeking in through the slightly-open door, quickly retreating. He followed.

Their friend had gotten the other military person—a blond-haired woman—some tea, and the woman called herself by Second Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye.

Curious, Al drew himself forward for a closer look. And then the most bizarre thing he'd come across yet occurred.

First he heard the rush of blood with the slightly-garbled sense of listening that he retained, and then he felt his head jerk back a bit. Alphonse blinked rapidly a few times, his eyes flitting all around a bit. Best of all, he could _feel_—the slight weight of the clothes, what was definitely a handgun in a holster, and the _warmth _of the sunlight coming in through a window. There was a whole numbness about it, but he didn't pay much mind.

It was then he realized what exactly was going on. It wasn't really him—it was _Riza_. He'd somehow taken control of her…and the fact that it was a _her_ suddenly made him feel awkward.

"Miss Riza?" Winry asked, sounding confused. "Is something wrong?" The girl tapped the lieutenant's hand—and Alphonse abruptly found himself floating in front of them again.

Riza blinked a few times and shook her head, looking puzzled for that moment, saying, "It's nothing." While Al was wondering how in the world that had happened.

* * *

Edward stared at the piece of paper that had been put in front of him by the Colonel. "So, this…Alphonse," the man started. "He's your…younger brother, correct?" Ed nodded.

Then the pencil was placed on the table. "Could you try to draw him for me? What he looks like now, anyways?"

Ed was dominantly right-handed, although he did know how to draw with his left, which he was stuck doing. When he finished, he could easily tell that neither Pinako nor the Colonel knew what to think, really.

To be honest, what Al appeared as now didn't look that human at all. Just a vague, dark shape, with some sort of tether connecting them.


	3. Haunting

**I actually got a review? This here was actually the first one I wrote on a whim.  
**

* * *

No matter how hard Ed tried, he just couldn't get himself to fall asleep. And it wasn't only the decision he had to make. He just couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him—and it wasn't just his brother. Not to mention the lights were flickering a little.

He turned his head to one side, and then the other. Wasn't like he could move much more _missing two limbs _and all. It was when he repeated the action for the third time could he barely suppress a scream.

Standing beside his bed was the bloodied figure of Urey Rockbell. Last Edward remembered, the Rockbell parents were dead.

Ergo…this was the _ghost_ of Winry's dad.

He blinked, and the man had suddenly vanished. But then he saw the spectre by the door, apparently waiting for him. A tense minute of total silence passed.

_Walking's gonna be hard,_ Ed told himself, setting a determined expression on his face. _But I can handle it._ It was a good thing there was a table at his bedside he could support himself on.

* * *

Alphonse hated seeing his brother struggle with such a simple action. Then he recalled something—he had been nosing around while Ed was unconscious earlier, and he had seen a crutch in that closet there, which was partially open. Directing himself over to the door, he nudged the door open further, revealing the crutch. "Al, what're you doing?" Ed asked.

_"Something." _The voice—barely more than a whisper—sounded garbled, but Ed still understood it clearly in his head. Levitating the crutch was easier than he thought it would be—said person took the crutch after a moment.

"Thanks Al," he said, smiling.

* * *

Ed followed Urey out the door and into the hall, walking for a minute. Then the ghost stopped by a closed door—Ed recognized it as Winry's room. "You want me to go in?" Ed asked hesitantly. He knew how hard Winry could hit, and being…_crippled_, as much as he hated to admit it, probably wouldn't stop her from clocking him for going into her room in the middle of the night. But of course, her father's spirit nodded. "Alright," he muttered, opening the door.

* * *

Winry just couldn't fall asleep. What didn't help was her door opening. On impulse she sat up, staring at the doorway in confusion—which quickly turned to shock. "Ed?! Why're you out of bed? Granny says you need to rest!" Although she was wondering—how in the world had he gotten the crutch?

He ignored, instead slowly approaching her, after looking at something that appeared to be at her bedside. He held out his hand silently in an offer.

Puzzled, she took it.

* * *

Al didn't really understand what Urey had said to him…but he could "see" some sort of bluish mist emanating upwards from his brother's and his friend's joined hands. _So I just…push the stream towards Ed?_ He did as such.

And he was unprepared for what happened then.

* * *

The blonde boy's head jolted back as if someone had punched him, his eyes shutting. When he opened them again, they were completely white. "Ed?" Winry asked, fear peaking. "What's going on? Y-You're scaring me!"

"Winry." She froze. He said her name—but at the same time, it was like there was another voice on top of his. A voice she knew only in her memories.

"_Daddy_?" she asked in a shocked whisper, not believing it.

"Winry, don't be sad," Ed-Urey said in a soft tone. "It wasn't their fault—they were only doing their job." Winry knew who he meant—the military.

"Ed, how?" she heard herself mutter. "How are you—?"

"We're still here with you and Granny," Ed-Urey went on. "We'll always be with you. Don't worry." Ed shut his eyes, shuddered, and when he opened them they were normal again.

For a few moments the girl could only open and close her mouth again. Finally, she managed to ask, "Ed, how did you do that?"

"…I don't know," he replied truthfully. "I only did what he told me to do." A pause. "What _did _I do?"


	4. Memory

**This one will likely be rewritten a bit at some point. Based on one of the possible endings of "****Mission Objective: Save Nina Tucker" by Adventures-of-You**

* * *

Alphonse did not trust Shou Tucker. Not one bit. Over time, he'd become very good at "reading" a person's aura, and the Sewing Life Alchemist just…didn't seem right.

His daughter Nina earned the opposite opinion, however. She was just so innocent and sweet! Their dog Alexander enjoyed jumping on Ed, although sometimes he'd look anxiously at wherever Al was…just like Den did, actually.

The Tuckers had a huge mansion, but it was only Nina and her father. That was where it got confusing—they first heard that Shou's wife had died, but then Shou himself said that she left him. Alphonse had brought that up to Ed, who shrugged it off with the reply of "Nina probably wouldn't know how to handle that. Think about it."

His older brother had a point...but it still seemed fishy. The two were out on the front lawn, and Shou was in the basement, preparing for his assessment. Alphonse was looking absently at a family photo, which seemed to have an odd bluish-white film covering it. _"Ed?"_

_"Yeah Al?"_

_"Can you come inside for a second?"_

There was a pause. _"Sure. It's about lunchtime, anyways."_

A few minutes later, after Ed set up a sandwich for Nina, he came up to where Al was and asked, "What's wrong?"

_"That picture. Something's weird about it."_

"Weird? What kind of weird?"

Alphonse didn't know how to explain it. But some weird instinct came to him, and he decided to listen to it.

* * *

It felt very similar to when the ghost of Winry's dad had temporarily seized control over him, but it wasn't any ghost. No, these were just memories.

_**Shou was arguing with his wife—**_

_**Both were in the basement, and she was lying unconscious on a complex transmutation circle, and only one could be that complex—**_

And as suddenly as it began, it was over. "Al." Ed's voice was hollow. "Go see what Mr. Tucker's doing, please."

He felt the now-familiar tugging feeling in his chest as his younger brother moved away to see what Shou was doing—and what Alphonse said then only confirmed the cold suspicion Ed had. _"He's drawing that same transmutation circle!"_

One thing was certain—Nina _was not _safe here. Rushing into the kitchen, he forcibly put a calm demeanor on and said, "Hey Nina? I just came up with a new game."

She looked up—she'd just finished her lunch. "What kind of game, big brother?"

"Hide-and-seek," he explained, leading her out the front door. Al was close behind, as was Alexander. The dog kept looking up at where the former was, growling quietly.

Once outside the property gate, Ed looked around, and said, "Hey Nina? How does a piggyback ride sound?"

She agreed immediately. After he took his jacket off and transmuted it to something less noticeable, he helped the four-year-old climb onto his back. Alexander looked up at him, and Ed noticed the dog's eyes had gone slightly glassy. He had no doubts that it was Alphonse's work.

* * *

The sun was going down by now. It had only taken two hours before they started seeing blue military uniforms almost everywhere—definitely on the search for him and Nina. Al—while controlling Alexander—proved to be a huge help with the dog's nose. Their telepathic communication still worked fine when Al was in control of someone or something else.

"Big brother, I'm cold," Nina said quietly.

In response Ed ducked off into a side alley, sitting down. He was running out of ideas by now, and he had to come up with something before—

"We're doing really good." Nina's voice broke his thoughts. "This must be the longest hide-and-seek game ever!"

Something then struck Ed, and he felt a smile force itself onto his face. He knew exactly where they were going to go.

* * *

No sooner had Ed knocked on the door of the Hughes household did he find himself yanked inside by the collar of his shirt.

Within a minute, Nina had been shuttled off to a different room to _quietly _play with Alexander—Elycia had just fallen asleep—and Maes Hughes was giving Ed a stern look. "You've got some _serious_ explaining to do here." At seeing Ed's expression, he added, "There's gotta be a reason you came here. Am I right?"

"Y-Yeah. Look, this is gonna sound crazy, but—Shou Tucker's assessment is coming up, right?" Hughes nodded. "He—he was going to use Nina to transmute a talking chimera. You remember the first one he made, right?" Edward was going on a very big hunch right now.

Again, a nod. Hughes looked thoughtful now. "Yeah. That's how he got his certificate in the first place. What about it?"

"You'll have to take my word for this—it's impossible to make a talking chimera out of any purely animal composite. It's be able to mimic things, sure, but it wouldn't be able to understand any of it or come up with its own words. From what I've heard, Tucker's chimera spoke without being prompted."

"It said that it wanted to die."

"Exactly! And if Tucker was trying to impress people, why teach it that?"

"What are you saying, Ed?"

"Hughes. What happened to Tucker's wife?"

"She died two years ago."

"He told me that she left two years ago. Why would he lie about that?"

Hughes looked confused—and then a look of the beginning of a horrifying realization came onto his face. "You're not saying…?"  
"Yeah. I'm definite he used his wife for that chimera. His assessment didn't go well last time, and he's desperate. He was going to use Nina. I have more proof, but, ah…you'd think I was totally insane."

Hughes looked thoughtful for a few moments, completely silent. "His assessment is tomorrow morning," he said finally. "You can stay here until after it. I can't say I fully believe you, but I'm not going to take that sort of risk."

* * *

Alphonse knew something had happened when Hughes entered the room with a dark look on his face. Ed, who was already half-awake, sat up immediately, blinking any remaining sleep out of his eyes.

"Ed, you were right," Hughes said.

"About…?"

"About Tucker. He was more than a little unstable. He was a danger to everyone around him, doubly so to someone as young as Nina."

"What happened?" Ed demanded at the same time as Al—although no one would be able to hear the latter, save for Ed.

Hughes frowned. "I wasn't there for it, but word got around fast. Apparently he had some sort of breakdown and tried transmuting _himself _with a stray cat right in front of the panel. They managed to stop him and time and restrained him. He was taken into custody after that."

_I knew it,_ Alphonse thought. "What'll happen to him now?"

"Nothing. The State Alchemist killer Scar broke in and killed him before anyone could do anything. Tucker's dead."

"And Nina…?"

"About that." Hughes scratched the back of his neck in a sheepish manner. "I accidentally let it slip that you both came here, but the higher-ups said they'd let it slide, what with what had happened. A few of 'em were even saying that it was probably a good thing you'd gotten the hell out of there when you had, and that they didn't want to think about what might've happened to Nina if you hadn't. As for Nina herself…they're still discussing that. They're assuming that she'll have to be put in a home, though."

Ed's eyes widened. "A home?! They can't do that! Th-They—wait." He ran into another room and grabbed the phone, dialing a number, and tapping his human foot repeatedly while waiting. Then, without giving the person he called a chance to even speak, he said, "Sorry for the short notice, but I've got a _huge_ favor to ask…"

* * *

**You may all guess away on who Ed called.**

**If anyone has any requests on what scenes they want to see rewritten, ask away. Just be sure to tell me what chapter it's in so I can look it up online.**


	5. Author's Note

**Okay people, I really need some suggestions on what to do next here. I have no ideas whatsoever, and my inspiration to write is going down the drain very fast.**


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